Fluid purifier



May 1, 192s. 1,667,954

F. J. SIMINGTON FLUID PURIFIER Filed Ju1y12, 192e TA/mwa@ 522/9/27021- Patented May 1, 1928.

UNITED STATES FRANCIS J'. SIMINGTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FLUID PURIFIER.

Application :filed July 12,

This invention relates to improvements in fluid purifiers or separators, more particularly of the type in which fluid substances are electrically treated.

This invention is described and illustrated as an apparatus for dehydrating and separating liquid and solid impurities from hydrocarbon oil and the like. The apparatus described is more particularly intended for purifying oil from turbine and engine' lubricating systems, electrical transformers, switches, etc.; and may be adapted for use in puriit'ying the lubricating oils from internal combustion engines; or for separating solids from gases as in the precipitation ot' smoke and dust. from blast furnaces, cement mills, and similar uses.

The efficacy of continuous low tension electrical flow with respect to the phenomenon of catasphoresis, as well as the agglomerating effect of h ighertensions, either direct or alternating, have been well known for many years by physicists and also by petroleum engineers. Many such devices have been invented for using low tension or high tension currents, but no device has heretofore been provided in which the ctfects ot both low and high tension are obtained. Apparently low tension dielectric stresses across the fluids are effective in separating the more loosely held particles ot water, that is, the particles ot water are caused to unite or coalcsce to form globules which are su'lliciently large to break through the. support-- ing film tension of the oil. Higher tensions cannot he used with a relatively large water content. apparently on account'y ot' the water forn'iing lshort circuiting paths between the electrodes and setting up disruptive discharges. lut. in order to separate the very minute particles ot water, higher stresses are required to force. the minute particles through the oil film, and to cause the particles to pierce the film so that the particlesl may unite or coalescc into larger globules.

Accordingly. in this invention the oil is passed through a series of decreasing gaps, as the dielectric strength of the oil increases by the separation of the water. This is substantially the equivalent of increasing the tension,since at the narrower gaps higher unit dielectric stresses are produced on the substance bv the same difference in voltage. Further objiects of the invention are to provide means for collecting and drawing ott the impuritiesv so that the device may be con- 1926. Serial N0. 121,926.

tinuously operated; to provide .a device in which the oil is first passed through a body of sediment so that some of the impurities are separated by contact or attraction there- 1n before the electric treatment takes place; and to provide a simple device which may be safely and efficiently operated.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention 1s shown in t-he accompanying drawing, vhich shows a cross section ot' an oil puri- The vertical, closed, cylindrical shell lforms a steam jacket. around the inner shell or tank 2, which is'supported on the bottom 3 o t' the shell l. The upper end 4 of the cylinder or tank 2 is a pyramid, .and the oil outlet pipe 5 is mounted in the apex of the top Il and passes through ay packing gland Gin the upper end 7 of the shell l. Steam is circulated through the shell l and around the tank 2 through the steam. pipes 8 and 9, for heating the oil to reduce viscosity.

In the upper end of the tank 2 is mounted a cross-shaped insulating support l0, from which are .suspended the inner rod electrode ll, the cylindrical electrode l2 concentric with and surrounding the electrode 1l, and the cylindrical electrode 13 around the electrode 12. The electrodes extend nearly to the bottom of the tank 2, and are positioned over the upper end of the hopper 14 which is mounted in the bottom of the tank 2, and projects a short distance into the tank. The walls of the tank 2 are of course grounded, and the middle plain cylindrical electrode l2 is electrically connected bymeans ot' the bond 'l5 to the tank. The flanged electrodes ll and l?, are connected t-o agrounded source ot high voltage direct current, preferably four hundred or tive hundred volts.

The oil is admitted through the inlet pipe 16 into the lower end of the hopper 14, and passes upwardly through the tank and out through the pipe at a slow rate of' flow, of about tour or five feet per minute.

As the oil passes upwardly under the dielectric strain between the electrodes, the dielectric strength or resistance gradually increases as the water separates from the oil.

and flows downwardly into the hopper and the bottom of the tank 2. Therefore,vin order to proportion thc tension in relation to the dielectric strength, so that the charge is distributed throughout the length of the electrodes, and to subject the oil at all stages to as great a tension as the oil can withstand, the gap between the electrodes is gradually decreased. This is accomplished by providing the annular rings or ns 17 on the electrodes 11 and 13, and gradually increasing the width of the ns toward the upper end of the electrodes. The electrode 11 is provided With fins only on the outer surface, while the larger electrode 13 is provided with fins both on the inside and outside so as to be in converging electrical relation with both the plain cylinder 12 and also the shell of the tank 2.

A draw-off" valve 18, having a sight gage 19, is tapped into the bottom of the tank, and a sight gage 20 is connected to the up# per end of the tank 2 and to the pipe 5.

In operation, the emulsion or impure oil is admitted through the pipe 16 into the bottom of the hopper 14, and flows upwardly through the hopper and the tank, and out through the pipe 5. The velocity of the fluid is reduced in the hopper and a certain amount of impurities will be therein separated, since the oil is caused to flow through the water, sludge, and sediment which is collected in the hopper. As the hopper fills the water, the water overflows into the bottom of the tank, where the depth or amount of water may be determined in the sight gage 19, so that the water may be drawn out through the valve 18 as it collects. It will be understood that freer particles of water become separated and collect at one pole at the lower end of the electrodes. Then as the fluid rises, increasing dielectric stresses arc applied which separate out the more firmly entrapped particles, which then flow downward through the increasing gaps into the hopper or the bottom of the tank.

The tank is entirely filled, as may be determined in the sight gage 20, before the current is turned on to the electrodes 11 and 13, so that all the air is removed and the danger of explosion is avoided.

' In the treater shown, the edges of the fins or vanes 17, of the positive electrodes 11 and 13, increase in a straight line; this closely approximates the actual increase in dielectric strength, as shown in laboratory tests. It is manifest that this treater is adapted to uniformly increase the unit dielectric stress across the emulsion, substantially proportionately as the dielectric strength of the emulsion increases; this provides a maximum effective charge across the emulsion in all the different zones, and distributes the electrical charge so that the heavy short circuits in the old forms of treaters may be avoided at all points by adjusting the voltage of the charged electrodes. Also, in this form of treater, the agglomeratcd water drops through between the ever increasing gaps and also tends to decrease the possibility of' water formations bridging across between the adjacent oppositely charged electrodes.l

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numer-` ous details of the construction shown may be altered or olnitted without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for separating substances from fluids, a tank, a hopper in the bottom of the tank, means for admitting the fiuids into the bottom of the hopper, means for subjecting the fluids to electrical stresses, said means being located above thc hopper, and means for drawing off' the separated substances from the bottom of the tank to provide a continuously operating device and to retain a certain amount of' separated substances in the hopper for collecting afiinitive substances from tne incoming fluids.

2. In an oil purifier, a vertical cylindrical tank closed at each end, a hopper projecting into the central portion of' the bottom of the tank, means for circulating oil upwardly through the hopper and the tank, means for subjecting the oil in passing through the tank to a gradually increasing electrical tension, and means for drawing off the sediment from the bottom of the tank, without disturbing the contents of the hopper.

3. In an oil purifier, a plurality of vertical concentrie cylindrical electrodes adjacently alternating in polarity, the electrodes of one polarity having laterally projecting fins on both sides increasing in height from the lower end upwardly, and means for passing oil upwardly between the electrodes.

Signed at Detroit this 20th day of May 1926.

FRANCIS J. SIMINGTON. 

